Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs). Internal data on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's performance is shown below:
Named Day PQs | Ordinary Written PQs | |
May 2025 | 41% | 56% |
June 2025 | 35% | 52% |
July 2025 | 18% | 45% |
August 2025 | N/A | N/A |
September 2025 | 28% | 29% |
October 2025 | 50% | 59% |
November 2025 | 71% | 88% |
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the Government's consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in (a) schools and (b) healthcare facilities in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain committed to work in partnership with governments to strengthen the systems to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools and health care facilities in low and lower-middle income countries. Our WASH Systems for Health Programme works with five district health teams in Sierra Leone to maintain WASH services in health care facilities, to prevent infection and protect health workers. Globally, we work with partners including the World Bank, UNICEF and WHO to provide data on WASH services in schools and health care facilities to support governments prioritising, planning and mobilising finance to close the service gaps.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase the level of funding available for water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to action on Global Health, including water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as part of our development partnerships. Current UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £37 million in 2023, and we continue to support WASH through our multilateral spend, estimated to have been approximately £79 million in 2022.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What diplomatic steps he is taking to enhance UK soft power.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Portland Index lists the UK as the World’s No.1 soft power. To maintain and develop this position, we have committed to strengthening our diplomatic network, and providing financial support for, amongst others, the BBC World Service, British Council and Chevening Scholarships.